The Carolina Panthers are taking the patient route with Bryce Young, and that says plenty about where things stand with their quarterback.
If Young had exploded into a Pro Bowl-level force last season, this conversation would already be over. He would be locked in as the franchise guy, with a long-term deal in place and the organization moving forward with no lingering questions.
But that version of the story never materialized. What the Panthers got instead was modest progress, plus the occasional flash that reminded everyone why he went first overall in the first place.
That kind of showing is not enough to justify handing out a massive contract yet, and Carolina knows it. According to Albert Breer at Sports Illustrated, the team is choosing a middle path with Young rather than rushing into a decision or slamming the door shut too soon. Breer pointed to the cautionary examples that have shaped the league’s thinking at quarterback:
“What a huge year for Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. The former first pick played well last year . . . but well enough for the Panthers to pay the going rate for a franchise quarterback?
If the answer to that was a resounding yes, they’d have taken care of that by now . . . Anyway, Carolina is using previous examples of teams giving up too quickly (Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold) or committing too quickly (Tua Tagovailoa) to quarterbacks in slow-playing this.
And the resulting pressure that’s on Young should help the Panthers draw a conclusion on which way to go.”
That approach makes sense, especially given that two of the examples Breer mentioned are tied to Carolina’s own history. The Panthers are trying to avoid both traps: the one where a team bails out on a quarterback before he settles in, and the one where it pays premium money before the player has truly earned it.
A new deal could reach as high as $50 million a year, and Carolina is clearly not eager to jump there without more proof. Young still has time to take another step and justify that kind of investment - maybe even exceed it. And if waiting means the price climbs later, so be it.
That’s still a better outcome than paying now and finding out later that the bet was too rich.
In Other News...
Bryce Young Trade Still Haunts The Panthers For One Reason
The 2023 deal that sent the No. 1 overall pick to Carolina is still one of the defining moves of the Bryce Young era, because it did not just land the Panthers their quarterback, it set Chicago up with the kind of draft capital that can reshape a roster for years. The Bears turned those picks into a wave of players, including Caleb Williams, Darnell Wright, Tory Taylor, Tyrique Stevenson and Luther Burden, giving the trade a footprint that keeps growing well beyond draft weekend.
For Carolina, the lingering sting is not only about Youngs early progress, but about how much the other side has already gotten from the transaction. Chicagos haul has produced more immediate depth and impact, while the Panthers are still waiting for the move to fully justify itself on their end. Even so, this is the kind of trade that can look different a year from now if Young keeps developing and Carolina starts cashing in on the quarterback it paid so dearly to land. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Secondary Could Get Even Scarier With This Early Projection
A new 2027 NFL mock draft from Bleacher Reports Scouting Department has already put the Panthers in a familiar place: eyeing the secondary. The projection has Carolina taking Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore with the No. 7 overall pick, a move that would add a technically polished defender with the size and football IQ to fit alongside what the Panthers are trying to build on that side of the ball.
It is only an early projection, of course, but it speaks to how the Panthers could keep leaning into defense if the roster trends hold. Moore is the kind of cornerback evaluators tend to pair with a strong existing group, and that is what makes this idea interesting for Carolina - not just whether he would be a fit, but how much scarier the secondary could look if the front office ever decides to spend premium draft capital there. [Read more 🡒]
Darren Waller Is Giving Panthers Fans A Reason To Dream Again
Darren Waller has spent this offseason taking a different approach to his conditioning, and it has given the Panthers something worth watching as camp unfolds. After a stretch in which his availability and effectiveness have been the real questions, the tight end has come into Carolina with a focus that has shown up both physically and mentally, according to coach Dave Canales.
Canales praised what he has seen from Waller during camp, and for a team looking for any reason to feel better about its passing game, that matters. The Panthers are still piecing together plenty of the offense around him, but Wallers work has at least added a layer of intrigue to a roster that has spent too long searching for steady playmakers. [Read more 🡒]